Coil handling apparatus



Nov. 19, 1957 A. F. PRENTICE COIL HANDLING APPARATUS Filed Nov. 14, 1965 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 D QC QQ] INVENTOR. fllfrecl F. Prentice BY mi I H o'rny 1957 A. F. PRENTICE COIL HANDLING APPARATUS 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Nov. 14, 1955 INVENTOR. HZf'recl F Prentice 131 j H o'rey Unite States COIL HANDLING APPARATUS Application November 14, 1955, Serial No. 546,446

4 Claims. (Cl. 214-89) This invention relates to coil handling apparatus and more particularly to a meansfor removing coils of steel rod from a hook carrier.

In the production of steel rod, it is the usual practice to form the rod in a rod rolling mill and then to coil it into bundles for subsequent handling and storage. When the coils of rod leave the reels, they are often transferred to a hook carrier for cooling and transportation; each coil hangs vertically from a hook and moves slowly in this condition toward a point of discharge. The coil is eventually removed from the hook carrier for assembly with a number of other coils for storage or for loading on a freight car, etc. The problem of removing each coil from its hook was simple enough in the early days of the steel industry, since the coils were fairly light and they could be removed by hand. This procedure has been used in many mills up to the present time. To increase the efficiency of steel mills, however, it has become necessary to roll larger and larger amounts of rod continuously and bundles of rod as large as 1200 pounds are being contemplated. The removal of the coils from the hooks has become, therefore, somewhat of a problem. In solving this problem a number of types of apparatus have been used, the most noteworthy being those shown in the patent to OMalley No. 2,237,160 and the patents to Morgan Nos. 2,256,684 and 2,328,388. However, these devices were intended for lighter bundles than are now contemplated and particularly, for coils having a thickness considerably smaller than their diameters. The present tendency in forming heavier bundles is to increase the thickness very considerably, while increasing the diameter of the coil very little. These coil proportions mean that the strands are easily displaced and the coil upset. The present invention obviates the deficiencies of the prior art in a novel manner.

It is therefore an outstanding object of the invention to provide an apparatus for the handling of rod bundles or the like whichwill remove the bundles from ahook carrier with a minimum of disarrangement of the strands.

Another object of this invention is the provision of a handling apparatus for removing coils from a hook carrier, which apparatus is rugged and dependable, simple to manufacture, inexpensive in initial cost and'which requires a minimum of maintenance.

A still further obiect of the instant. invention is the provision of coil handling apparatus making use of a hydraulic actuator to remove the coil from a hook carrier and to lower it to an assembling table.

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apparatus for removing coils from a hook carrier in which the apparatus may be operated to permit a particular coil to pass without being removed.

With these and other objects in view, as will be apparent to those skilled in the art, the invention resides in the combination of parts set forth in the specification and covered by the claims appended hereto.

The character of the invention, however, may be best understood by reference to certain of its structural forms, as illustrated by the accompanying drawings in which:

Figure l is a plan view of steel mill apparatusv embodying the principles of the present invention,

Figure 2 is an elevational view of the invention looking transversely of the line of travel of the hook carrier, and

Figure 3 is an elevational view of the invention looking in the direction of travel of the hook carrier.

For the purposes of this specification the expression longitudinal shall mean parallel to the line of motion of the hook carrier, while transverse shall mean at a right angle to the said line.

Referring first to Figure 1, wherein is best shown the general features of the invention, the coil handling apparatus, indicated generally by the reference numeral 10, is shown in use with a hook carrier 11 and an assembly table 12. The hook carrier 11 is provided with a plurality of hooks 13 and each hook may have a coil 14 dependent therefrom with its axis extending horizontally in the direction of movement of the carrier. In this view, the hook carrier is traveling to the right and the hooks are open rearwardly, i. e., have their free ends or points extending oppositely to the direction of movement of the carrier. The assembly table 12 is shown as an endless chain conveyor, there being two chains sideby-side having links which are inclined toward each other to form a groove in which the coils may be carried. Dogs 15 are provided at spaced intervals to assure that the coils remain upright, i. e., with their axes horizontal. A stop member 16 is mounted on the mill floor on the opposite side of the assembly table from the coil handling apparatus. A connecting table 17 isfixed to the floor on the same side of the assembly table 12 as the coil handling apparatus.

Referring nextto Figures 2 and 3, the coil handling apparatus 10 consists of a base' 20 fixed to the mill floor,

a vertical supporting member 21 rising from the side of the base away from the assembly table, and support arms 22 extending from the vertical supporting member in the direction of the assembly table. The base 20 is a generally fiat steel member, while the supporting member 21 consists of two vertical, spaced structural beams 23 joined at their upper parts by a horizontal beam 24. Suitable buttressplates are welded to the beams 23 to strengthen the structure. A sliding beam 25' extends between the beams 23 and is slidable up and down between them. Preferably thebeams 23 are I-beams and are mounted with their webs parallel to each other and extending transversely .of the line of travel of the hook carrier; the recesses in the beams which faceeach other in this construction provide for the vertical sliding movement of the beam- 25. In its central..zportion, the beam 25 is attached to the free endof. the piston rod 26 .ofa hydraulic-actuator 27-, the cylinder 28 0f which isrfixed to the base 20 between the beams 23. The hydraulic supply lines :and. the controls therefor are not, shown nor do they form a part of the present invention. Extending from the sliding beam 25 in the direction of the hook carrier and the assembly table is an arm 29 having an elongated vertical, longitudinal flange 30. Each of the arms 22 is provided with a broad book 31 adapted to embrace this flange and to be supported thereby. To the outer ends of the support arms 22 is position shown in solid lines in Figure 3.

pivotally attached 'a cradle 32; pivot pins 33 joining the cradle and arms in this manner are situated with their axis considerably nearer to the assembly table 12 than the center of gravity of the cradle 32 with a coil 14 lying therein. Since the center of gravity of cradle and coil lie between the pivot pins 33 and the sliding beam 25, they normally tend to tilt in the direction of the beam and the cradle rests on the intermediate portions of the arms 22. In construction, the cradle is preferably formed of structural beams and plates welded together to form a skeleton; in general, the cradle consists of a floor 34, a transverse wall 35, and a longitudinal wall 36. The floor and the walls are suitably reinforced to form a rigid structure. A striking rod 37 extends across the underside of the floor 34 and is rigidly connected thereto. As is evident in Figure 3, the upper edge of the vertical wall 36 of the cradle 32 is notched in the portion which underlies the hook carrier to provide for the passage of the hooks. Extending upwardly from the portion of the base 20 adjacent the connecting table 17 and rigidly fastened thereto is a tilting post 38, located to contact the rod 37 when the cradle is lowered. As is evident in Figure 2, the fioor 34 of the cradle 32 is inclined relative the axis of the pivot pins 33 and is always tilted downwardly in the direction of movement of the hook carrier; the transverse Wall 35 leans in the same direction.

The operation of the invention will now be readily understood in view of the above description. As the hook carrier proceeds forwardly, each hook 13 arrives at the coil handling apparatus with its burden, the coil 14. The cradle 32 is a little below the uppermost The coil 14 strikes the transverse wall 35 and is held against movement. The cradle is moved upwardly to lift the coil slightly, while the hook continues on its way. Eventually, the hook is entirely removed from the coil and the coil rests on the floor 34. The coil resides in the cradle in an inclined position against the wall 35 and the inclination of the floor 34 assists the wall in maintaining the coil in this positon. Furthermore, the floor 34 is inclined toward the wall 36 in the transverse direction because it pivots about the pivot pins 33 until it rests on the arms 22. If the coil has any tendency to roll or slide transversely, it is prevented by engagement with the longitudinal wall 36. When the hook is entirely free of the coil handling apparatus, the hydraulic actuator 27 is placed in lowering condition and the hydraulic fluid moves slowly from under the piston. This permits the sliding beam 25 to move downwardly between the beams 23. Eventually, the point is reached at which the striking rod 37 engages the tilting post 38. After this engagement takes place, any further downward motion of the beam 25, the arms 22 and the pivot pins 33 causes the cradle to rotate to a position in which the floor 34 is on a level with and at the same inclination as the upper surface of the connecting table 17. The coil 14 rolls away from the longitudinal wall 36 but remains against the transverse wall 35 and slides along it. Soon the coil rolls free of the cradle, moves across the connecting table 17, and onto the assembly table 12. It is prevented from going any further in that direction by the stop member 16 which it strikes. actuator 27 is then operated to move the beam 25 to the top of the supporting beams 23 against; the cradle again tilts back into its original position against the arms 22 and is ready to receive the next coil.

It is obvious that minor changes may be made in the The hydraulic form and construction of the invention without departing from the material spirit thereof. It is not, however, desired to confine the invention to the exact form herein shown and described, but it is desired to include all such as properly come within the scope claimed.

The invention having been thus described, what is claimed as new and desired to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. A coil handling apparatus for transferring coils from a hook carrier to an assembling table located be low and to one side of the carrier, comprising a base having upstanding supporting members, a horizontally-extending support member attached at one end on the supporting members for vertical sliding from an upper position on a level with the carrier to a lower position on a level with the table, a hydraulic actuator connected between the base and the support arm for bringing about the said vertical sliding, a cradle being mounted for pivotal motion relative on the other end of the support arm about an axis parallel to the direction of motion of the carrier and means associated with the lower position for tilting the cradle so that the coil rolls transversely of the direction of motion of the carrier out of the cradle to the table.

2. A coil handling apparatus as recited in claim 1 wherein the cradle is provided with a floor, a transverse wall and a longitudinal wall, the floor being inclined in the vertical plane of and relative to the axis of pivotal motion of the cradle, the lowermost point being adjacent the transverse wall which wall is also inclined so that it resides at an approximate right angle to the floor, the floor being inclined in a transverse plane downwardly toward the said one end of the support arm when it is in the said upper position.

3. A coil handling apparatus as recited in claim 1 wherein the said means associated with the lower position consists of a striking bar fixed to the cradle and a tilting post extending upwardly from the base.

4. An apparatus for transferring annular members from a hook carrier which is movable in a longitudinal direction to an assembling table located a considerable distance below and to one side of the carrier, comprising a base having an upstanding supporting member, a cradle for supporting an annular member and capable of movement from an upper loading position on a level with the carrier to a lower discharge position on a level with the table, the cradle being mounted for pivotal motion about a longitudinal pivotal axis relative to the supporting member from a first position in which the annular member is supported in a vertical position on its outer periphery so as to be incapable of rolling to a second position in which the annular member is capable of rolling transversely of the cradle, and means associated with the movement of the cradle to the lower portion for tilting the cradle about its axis so that the annular member rolls transversely out of the cradle to the table.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,256,684 Morgan et al Sept. 23, 1941 2,546,374 Rayburn et al Mar. 27, 1951 2,548,767 Brest Apr. 10, 1951 2,725,137 Muddiman Nov. 29, 1955 2,733,826 Manion et al. Feb. 7, 1956 FOREIGN PATENTS 349,298 Great Britain May 28, 1931 

